Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Thinking Heads

I hadn't noticed. I mainly go looking for things. I'd forgotten to look at the French face. This time I was going to record all the French faces I could...in posters of course, since you can't walk up to people and shoot in their faces! Here was the first French face I saw.

Isn't this a very FRENCH face! VERY, VERY FRENCH!Here poetic licence is taken with a bit of stretching... Ah the romantique French face...gotta love it!

This cool cat looks alot like the romantique guy...

Kristin Scott Thomas - not French but she surely looks French here and she does live in France.

Pensive...

Can you tell me who this French woman is? In the Tuilleries Metro station?I forgot. Also pensive...

Of course President Sarko turns up everywhere...

French heads buried in wine corks in a wine shop window...

A French kid in the Metro

Notice no smiling faces, no blue eyes, no blonde hair.

None of your average pretty formulaic faces we're so boringly fed in US posters. No faces that make you think "I should look like that!" Well not many...Thinking heads in fact, not just faces.

Here's your average French kid on a notebook about to do something naughty...

Lots of surreal faces in Paris... Yesterday I had tea with French blogger Anne Corrons of MesVitrines NYC . She said sometimes she's surprised that I show things besides Paris pastries. I'm always looking for visual patterns and trends in Paris. Some of them I just make up, like looking for French faces...

Take Adrien Brody and put him in a French Metro and he looks decidedly French doesn't he?

29 comments:

Intriguing post. I've noticed that you see faces in Rohmer films that you never see in the States. Its a kind of odd combination of features that taken one by one you've seen but put it all together and its something new. For incredible faces go to Hawaii. You'll wonder what went into making such wonderful faces.

I just see what I see. I am so glad I opened your eyes to something new on your recent visit to Paris. French noses! Sarkozy and Chirac are prime examples. Perfect! As for cybee's comment - some French noses look like cars from the 1950s. It is amazing. Anyone reading this, who comes to Paris, just look the next time. From the métros to the cafés they are everywhere. Enjoy them!

Hi, Carol! I enjoy your daily Paris Breakfasts; they help enhance my "sweet" life here in Paris. I also enjoy the occasional branching out of topics. You have a very keen eye...and in Paris, it's all about the Eye Candy, n'est pas?

Two things: (1) it's Adrien Brody, not Aiden Quinn, (2) if no one gets back to you re:the lady in the poster in the Tuilleries station (and if you really want to know!), I work very close to there and could easily find out for you. Let me know...

I am so enjoying my morning jaunts in or thinking aboutParis as I read your emails.

I am about to go off to France myself and I am EXACTLYsuffering as you described it, not wanting to get on the planeand go- stay here, rake the yard, chill a bit. Why go all theway there to do the same, etc etc!

Had to smile when I saw "The Pianist" among your French guys (doesn't Sarkozy also have Hungarian roots?). I think it would be difficult to nail down a "typical" Viennese face, Austrians tend to have roots all over Europe.

Just like in Austria with Austrian faces, finding typical French faces in Paris is difficult :SarKozy with Hungarian roots,Sarah Bernhardt with a Dutch mother,Raphaël- the cat looking guy, (I LOVE this singer!)with an Argentinan mother and a Russian father..

But I do not think Carol's aim was to trace back all those people...Her eye caught them all pinned up on Paris walls and all these faces express the same feeling and give some moroseness to the capital.

(AND this matches the atmosphere in the country)

(to cd&m: I like your comment!The "fromage" is rather bitter at the moment- and difficult to swallow up...)

It's like in New York perhaps... You can be a "NEW YORKER" and be born somewhere else.I wasn't struck by the "moroseness", Marie-Noëlle, as by so much humaness represented.No phoney happy, happy faces.Maybe phoney moroseness...qui sait?Maybe phoney seriousness..But certainly a humaness present. And that touched me.So much more than the carbon copy happy faces I see in US posters.

I agree parisbreakfasts. Humaness is beautiful when the soul reflects intelligence and compassion. I believe these two to be a part of the French collective subconscience... Nice poste! I enjoy your blog very much!